Chapter 103 - Chapter 17: Test #2 (1/2)

Chapter 103 - Chapter 17: Test #2

It was already shocking that the sword duke had appeared at the court gathering.

Yet the sword duke had immediately spoken to one of the princes.

The meaning of this was enormous.

The 1st Prince, 2nd Prince, 3rd Prince and 4th Princess…

The sword duke hadn’t spoken to the previous four people. He had gazed at the 2nd Prince with interested eyes, but that was all.

He hadn’t greeted them or acted friendly.

Moreover, there was one important fact.

‘It's been a month.

‘How are you?’

The combination of everything and this short greeting resulted in only one conclusion:

9th Prince and the sword duke had met in the past.

Additionally, it had been during just this past one month.

Those who were participating in the court gathering weren’t stupid; most of them remembered the last court gathering.

The last court gathering...

The day afterwards, 9th Prince had headed to Thunderdoom Fortress.

‘How had the 9th Prince met the sword duke? Had the sword duke gone to visit 9th Prince?’

‘Moreover, it wasn’t somebody else but truly the sword duke?’

‘The sword duke?!’

These questions raised some doubts.

The shock caused an even greater impact.

1st Prince Baikal Ragnaros flinched. He wanted to look behind him.

3rd Prince Victor Nekrion, on the other hand, couldn’t endure it. He looked back with a confused and awkward expression.

4th Princess Anastasia Nekrion repressed herself, but she also revealed a slight shaking in her body.

It was just the 2nd Prince who didn’t seem to care. However, In-gong didn’t care about any of this. Everyone was busy looking between the sword duke and In-gong, while In-gong was struggling with the ripples caused by the sword duke’s greeting.

Felicia repressed an urge to press her hand to her chest and her stomach hurt like she had often read in the novels she read as a hobby. This was definitely something that hurt her stomach.

‘Sword duke! You are already getting too much attention!’

The sword duke had certainly said it at Thunderdoom Fortress.

He had said the fact that 9th Prince had combined Sura Heart Law and Divine Beast Authority into Divine Sura Authority should be concealed.

9th Prince was already receiving too much attention. If this fact was known, people would be even more wary toward him.

Then what was this? Was this the trial that often appeared in novels? Or perhaps, it was a test?

‘What is this bullying?’

There shouldn’t be trials or tests.

Felicia erased all the prideful things in her head, trying to calm her mind and maintain her composure.

Anyway, it was a situation where the sword duke had greeted In-gong.

There had to be a response.

How should he respond? Should he greet the sword duke? Or should he maintain his silence in front of the demon king?

It was not Felicia but In-gong who needed to respond. Even so, her stomach was hurting. It was really bad for her heart.

Only a few seconds had passed by.

During this period of time that was both short and long, Felicia was caught up in her pained thoughts while everyone was amazed.

“Oh, I was rude. I forgot this is the inner palace of the demon king.”

The sword duke spoke again. He bowed to the demon king in apology and the demon king accepted it with his usual face.

The storm had passed.

However, the calm after the storm wasn’t calm.

Pent-up emotions…

The atmosphere in the Demon King’s Palace was like trying to hide a mess with a big white cloth.

This incident didn’t take long to pass. It was thanks to Isabella, the organizer of the court gathering, remembering her duties.

“9... No, 5th Prince, Silvan Doomblade.”

It was a minor misstep but most people understood the mistake. No, there were many who didn’t even realize the mistake.

For example, Silvan who stepped forward. Additionally, Felicia, who was watching Silvan, felt an intense pain in her stomach and heart again.

‘Silvan! Your hands and feet should go together!’

Why was Silvan the one who had to go out first?

Silvan had received a very big shock because he had always wanted to be noticed by the sword duke. His steps were awkward like a man who had forgotten how to walk, but fortunately, everyone was still in shock. There were a few who noticed Silvan’s mistake, but Silvan was able to show the proper procedure when he reached the demon king. This was due to Silvan having been born as a prince and grown up as one.

Felicia sighed with relief, but she then became tense again.

“6th Princess, Felicia Doomblade.”

Why was she next after Silvan?

Felicia blamed the 3rd Queen Sylvia Doomblade for a moment, then stepped forward gracefully at Isabella's call stepping forward at Isabella’s call.

After that were Chris and Caitlin. Thanks to having some time to prepare, the two people were able to regain their composure and showed much more relaxed appearances than Silvan and Felicia had shown.

Chris was smiling confidently as always while Caitlin had a gentle expression on her face.

Then finally, it was In-gong’s turn.

“9th Prince, Shutra Ignus.”

In-gong’s steps coincided with Isabella’s call. It was like crossing a sea of gazes, but In-gong just smiled.

‘This is the third.’

The fact that humans were creatures of adaptation seemed to fit this perfectly.

As he stood on the right of all the royal children, In-gong got down on one knee before the demon king.

As usual, it was time to announce the merits of all the royal children who participated in the court gathering.

However, this court gathering wasn’t to announce the merits and appreciate the achievements.

After looking at all his children for a moment, the demon king glanced at the sword duke.

”Sword Duke, did you leave the sanctuary a while ago to meet Shutra?”

After the demon king’s question, everyone listened attentively. The fact that the demon king spoke in the court gathering had no great impact now.

Not only was the other person the teacher of the demon king, but the question itself was very interesting.

The sword duke had left the sanctuary.

Moreover, it had been in order to meet the 9th Prince.

Most people in the room didn’t know what the sanctuary was, but the important thing wasn’t the sanctuary. The important thing was that the sword duke had come personally to meet with 9th Prince.

Everyone paid attention to the sword duke’s answer. The sword duke laughed lightly and replied,

”That's correct. It was a short but pleasant meeting. There was the taste of being a teacher.”

It was a short answer, but they were words that absolutely couldn’t be missed.

The taste of teaching…

Felicia’s heart sank. Silvan froze with his mouth hanging open, while 3rd Prince Victor gritted his teeth.

One of the captains opened his mouth and said,

”Sword Duke, does that mean that 9th Prince is your disciple?”